Bob McWhorter

{{short description|American college football player and politician}}

{{Infobox college football player

| name = Bob McWhorter

| image = BobMcWhorter.jpg

| caption = Bob McWhorter College Hall of Fame photo

| pastschools =

Gordon (1909)
Georgia (1910–1913)

| currentposition = Halfback

| currentnumber = 36

| nickname =

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 10

| weight_lb = 180

| class = Graduate

| school = Georgia Bulldogs

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1891|6|4|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Lexington, Georgia, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1960|6|29|1891|6|4|mf=y}}

| death_place = Athens, Georgia, U.S.

| highschool =

| highlights =

First-team All-American (1913)
4× All-Southern (1910–1913)
AP Southeast All-Time team (1869–1919 era)
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (1964)

| CFBHOF_id = 1312

| CFBHOF_year = 1954

}}

Robert Ligon McWhorter (June 4, 1891 – June 29, 1960) played football and baseball at the University of Georgia.

Early life

Bob McWhorter was born on June 4, 1891 in Lexington, Georgia.

= Gordon =

McWhorter attended Gordon Military College in Barnesville, Georgia.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cxziB-y0NQcC&pg=PT32|title=Echoes of Georgia Football: The Greatest Stories Ever Told|last=Books|first=Triumph|date=September 1, 2006|publisher=Triumph Books|isbn=9781617490484|language=en}} He played football and baseball there under coach Alex Cunningham. Their baseball team came up to Athens, Georgia and won 11–0. University of Georgia (UGA) athletic chairman Dr. S. V. Sanford hired Cunningham that same day, and McWhorter followed.

University of Georgia

He was a member of Chi Phi fraternity, Phi Kappa Literary Society, and Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Georgia. In his senior year, McWhorter was the captain of both the baseball and football teams,

= Football =

As a halfback, he scored 61 touchdowns from 1910 to 1913. In 1913, McWhorter became UGA’s first All-American when he was selected by Parke H. Davis.{{cite book|title=Spalding's Official Football Guide |year=1914|page=21|url=https://archive.org/stream/officialnational06nati#page/21/mode/1up/search/hogsett}} Sportswriter Dick Jemison said "When you mention football to an Athens fan its definition is Bob McWhorter, and vice-versa."{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-bob-mwhorter/168238296/|title=Bob M'Whorter|page=9|date=October 5, 1913|work=Atlanta Constitution|via=newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}

During the First World War, McWhorter was captain of the 1917 Camp Gordon football team.

== Legacy ==

In 1915, McWhorter was the last selected for Heisman's 30 greatest Southern football players.{{cite news|url=https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053729/1915-03-19/ed-6/seq-11/print/image_681x791_from_0,0_to_5555,6455/|date=March 19, 1915|title=Dixie's Football Hall of Fame|author=J. W. Heisman|work=Atlanta Georgian}} He made an all-time Georgia Bulldogs football team picked in 1935.{{cite journal |url=http://cdm16313.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16313coll13/id/215 |title=All-Time All-Star Team |author=George Trevor |journal=Tulane University Football Program-The Greenie; Georgia Vs. Tulane}} Bob McWhorter was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. He was inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1964. McWhorter was chosen for an Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869–1919 era.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19690727&id=2eRGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2256,3526388 |newspaper=Gadsden Times |date=July 27, 1969 |title=All-Time Football Team Lists Greats Of Past, Present}}

=Baseball=

Although he was offered a professional baseball contract, he instead chose to study law at the University of Virginia.

Attorney

After becoming an attorney, he returned to Athens, Georgia to practice law. He was a four-term mayor of Athens (1940–1947) and a law professor at Georgia from 1923 to 1958. He died in Athens, on June 29, 1960, at the age of 69.{{Citation needed |date=March 2021}}